Lisa Gardner, City Council Communications Director, 509.625.6226
Tuesday, March 14, 2023 at 8:17 a.m.
During Monday’s Legislative Session, City Council voted 5-2 in favor of the General Facilities Charges (GFC) Ordinance C36369, which updates GFCs for the first time in over 20 years and provides a waiver for utility hookups for all new homes built throughout the city for households with incomes less than $75,000/year. These waivers will be paid for by the general utility taxes paid to keep the funds for the new water and sewer infrastructure.
Before voting on Ordinance C36369, Council unanimously voted to suspend the rules at their March 27th Briefing Session to allow for further consideration of amendments to the GFC fee structure.
The Mayor originally proposed incrementally implementing the following new rates over a number of years to fund necessary water and sewer projects to serve the thousands of new housing units needed in Spokane:
Ordinance C36369 immediately implements the new rates, with the exception of a two-year phase in period for water GFCs in the lower zone, and adds the following waiver to ensure that the new housing will be affordable for average working resident in Spokane:
“No longer will everyday ratepayers subsidize luxury home builders,” said Council President Breean Beggs. “Instead, the City of Spokane will incentivize affordable housing for our residents left behind by the drastic rise in housing costs in Spokane.”
The Mayor’s original proposal created two zones (lower and higher elevations) because the projects needed in the outlying areas of Spokane for new homes are at a higher elevation and require more expensive infrastructure for towers and pumping. The new rates ensure that the builders will pay the costs for these new facilities, creating the need for the new infrastructure, not the existing ratepayers.
“Twenty years is long enough for our individual ratepayers to be subsidizing development,” said Council Member Lori Kinnear. “It is time to fully implement updated rates so that those who are creating the need for increased infrastructure bear the cost.”
The building moratorium in Latah Valley expired on March 13th ; therefore, City Council voted on this as an emergency ordinance during the March 13th Legislative Session. This emergency vote was to ensure that the water and sewer infrastructure funds do not miss out on the Mayor’s right-sized costs to build more housing is critical. The Mayor has decided that the 72 projects with existing building permits and counter-ready applications won’t have to pay the new fees.
About the Spokane City Council
The City Council is the legislative body of the City of Spokane, which is home to more than 220,000 people and is located in the heart of the Inland Northwest. The City’s 2,000 employees strive to deliver efficient and effective services that facilitate economic opportunity and enhance the quality of life for all our citizens. For more information, visit SpokaneCity.org/CityCouncil/ and follow us @SpokaneCityCouncil on Facebook.
